The practice of letting go, is a significant aspect of a lot of yogi thought and is one of the hardest things to achieve.

I had done several yoga flows that focused on letting go, and while meditating I found how hard that is, more for some than others. Going into 2017, the idea of letting go brings a good kind of challenge, especially when we really look at, what it exactly means to let go.

I heard repeated in one yoga class, letting go is not giving up or giving in, it is growing up. It is accepting what is, and being comfortable moving forward. It is fearlessness. When I hear the term "letting go", I think of it as being compromising. I never want to be compromising. I want to be aggressive and unrelenting and fight for what I believe in and my dreams. However, negative thoughts and energy have an insidious way of clinging to your consciousness in almost a tangible way. I have always wanted to be that person with a rocky exterior who doesn't allow anything to get to them. But that easier said than done.

Often times we cling to things that we have come to believe will make us happy, or at least supposed to. Finding love, leading a successful career, being the best daughter, mother, friend and more. Though there is nothing wrong with all of the above, there is a distinct way in which these goals lend to unnecessary stress and misdirection. Is tirelessly pursuing my career going to bring me the happiness I seek? Each and every person has imbalance in their life.

Letting go is in a way a type of mindfulness. Realizing what is really going on in your life, and releasing things into the universe. Releasing control. Living in alignment.

Yoga practice truly is a great method to gaining this sort of letting go. Yoga poses and practices can drastically alter how the mind, body and spirit function alone and together. As I am working on meditation I like to think of the seven energy Chakras and how energies of the body effect of we feel, and also how we are feeding into those energy centers.

Let us make the mantra of 2017, letting go. Let's stay focused and not allow for the opinions of others the change our course. Stay humble, work for balance, and let go of all that does not serve you.